Last week, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Director Christopher Wray asked several United States Senate committees to approve his $8.92 billion fiscal 2019 budget request. In a detailed speech, Wray explained that the bureau will use the funds to defend the nation against foreign and domestic threats that included (among other things) terrorism, crimes against children, the illicit drug trade, and … cybercrime. He also took time to talk specifically about the insider threat, focusing on a category we at Dtex refer to as the “malicious employee.” Said Wray:
A particular focus of our counterintelligence efforts is aimed at the growing scope of the insider threat—that is, when trusted employees and contractors use their legitimate access to steal secrets for personal benefit or to benefit another company or country.
You can read the full transcript of Wray’s speech: FBI Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2019
Wray’s speech didn’t go unnoticed by our CEO, Christy Wyatt, who said:
Our own assessment-based research demonstrates that active insider threats are present in every organization on the planet. By making the insider threat one of the areas of focus in his 2019 budget request, director Wray has validated what everyone in the security industry knows, that insiders cause as much damage to an organization as any threat.
Christy was referring to the Dtex 2018 Insider Threat Intelligence Report. It supports Wray’s assertion that malicious insiders are a problem that organizations must deal with. In the assessments used to compile the report’s findings, we found that malicious insiders were doing everything from using private, anonymous or VPN browsing to bypass security controls to making regular visits to inappropriate web sites.
Since releasing the report last week, multiple news outlets have published stories zeroing in on the various ways that malicious, and negligent, insiders inflict damages on organizations. These include:
Beta News: 100 percent of organizations have active insider threats
Infosecurity Magazine: Orgs Failing to Identify Insider Threat Blind Spots
HelpNet Security: Insider threat blind spot enables employee revenge attacks
isBuzz: The Challenge Of Insider Threats
SecurityIntelligence:More Than Half of Risk Assessments Spot Attempts to Bypass Security
SecurityBoulevard: 3 Most Common and Risky Insider Security Behaviors
Inside Cybersecurity: Dtex 2018 insider threat intelligence report
This week, Christy will be a guest on NBC Bay Area’s Press:Here TV. Alongside of host Scott McGrew and journalists Laura Mandaro of USA TODAY and Joe Menn of Reuters, Christy will be discussing how the rules of data collection are changing.
The weekly news show airs online Friday afternoons and Sunday mornings at 9:30 on KNTV 11.